The Subaru Outback comes loaded
with high-end technologies, but to make the most of them, you must select the
right tire. This isn’t a straightforward process with the oodles of options on
the market, which is why we’ll help our readers in selecting the best tires for Subaru outback.

How are we going to do that, you ask? Well, before this article appeared on the screen of your smartphone, we read dozens of online reviews and interviewed multiple Outback drivers and used their recommendations to identify the ten best Subaru outback tires recommended on the market.

And the best thing is we aren’t
going to hide anything from you. We’ll reveal everything that we didn’t like
about each tire in this review, as well as the buying guide criteria which
helped us select the best Outback tires for you. So you’ll know everything
about these tires before exiting this page.

Sounds like a good deal? Then scroll down to get the best Subaru Outback tires recommended

Benefits of Best Tires for Subaru Outback

Following are some of the reasons why you might want to
invest in these tires:

Increase
comfort level: Subaru refers to the outback as an SUV but most of its users
consider it a station wagon. Regardless of which the two viewpoints you
subscribe to, the best tires for your outback will take your drive comfort to a
whole new level.

More
enhanced traction: Almost all tires that you see in this review have an asymmetrical
tread pattern and outside shoulders which enhance their traction on all
surfaces.

Less road
noise: While these tires would no doubt provide enhanced traction, they
won’t do the same at the cost of the health of your ears.

No
hydroplaning: The best tires for your outback have lateral grooves that
work to channel water away from beneath the tire’s surface, thereby preventing
hydroplaning.

Best All-Season Tires for Subaru Outback

Michelin Defender LTX M/S

The Michelin Defender LTX M/S is
an all-season tire that reserves its best performance for dry tarmac, but you
can also count on it to hold its own on moderately wet surfaces. Additionally,
the price tag of this tire is such that you won’t have to rob a bank to afford
it.

Features

When it comes to providing
equipping its tires with technologies, Michelin has never adopted a miserly
approach. The Defender LTX M/S is a beneficiary of this approach as this tire
comes loaded with three technologies that do wonders for its performance.

Of the three technologies, you’ll
find the ‘EverTread’ Technology most helpful. It increases the tire’s tread
life by reinforcing its inner substances to better withstand road abuse. Though
the ‘Comfort Control’ Technology isn’t far behind in utility as it makes your
riding experience smooth and noise-free.

Then there’s the ‘Intellisipe’
technology which is responsible for this model’s wet pavement grip. It makes
sure that the tire doesn’t experience slippage by increasing the number of its
biting edges. As a result, you can drive safely at high speeds with maximum
control over the tire’s movement.

Furthermore, this is a durable
all-season tire thanks to its internal structure. With twin steel belts
reinforcing the tread, it doesn’t deform under pressure, thereby making sure
that the tire outlasts its warranty period.

Lastly, since we’re already
singing paeans about the durability of this tire, it would be amiss if its Max
Touch Construction escapes our attention. This technology achieves a fine
balance between the forces of braking, acceleration and cornering to make the
entire tread area free of any abuse signs.

Pros

Tough
tread compound

Added
grip on wet surfaces

Even
distribution of various forces

Cons

Not for
extra cold conditions

General Altimax RT43

Provided you like what the
Michelin LTX M/S has to offer – but are deterred by its slightly elevated price
tag – the General Altimax RT43 comes across as a budget option. Its
availability in multiple sizes means almost all models of Subaru Outback can
find a fit.

Features

One glance at the two-layered
tread compound, and you can be sure that corners haven’t been cut to keep this
model’s asking price in a budget. The upper layer has a high-density core which
is responsible for providing traction in all-seasons, hence the classification
of this model as an ‘all-season’ tire.

The low-density layer is slightly
more flexible and helps the tire absorb vibrations to give those sitting in the
cabin a comfortable ride. Equal praise has to go towards the way of the independent
tread blocks whose partnership with the continuous center rib allows the tire
to absorb road bumps.

While the asymmetric tread design
of this model has taken care of vibrations, the onus of keeping the noise as
low as possible is on the shoulders of its sound-wave suppression technology.
The description of how this technology works is beyond the scope of this
article but rest assured that it works!

Additionally, its Low Surface
Abrasion Technology lets the tire enjoy three beneficial features. First, it
increases the tire’s contact area with the road, thereby decreasing the surface
abrasion which it experiences, which is the second benefit.

Thirdly, when the tire won’t
undergo unnecessary friction, you don’t need us telling you that this feature
will enhance the tread life of this model. Also, you get three visual
indicators – Replacement Tire Monitor, Visual Alignment indicator, and tread
wear indicator bars – to aid you in the tire maintenance.

Pros

Three
tire indicators

Suppresses
road noise

Keeps
vibrations at bay

Cons

Not to
be driven on snowy roads

Continental TrueContact

The Continental TrueContact is
one of those unique tires whose performance overlaps between an all-season and
touring tire. That is, because, on the one end, it provides a brilliant grip on
dry tarmac. On the other end, it displays outstanding wear characteristics and
good grip on snowy surfaces.

Features

Let’s start with the features of
this tire responsible for its excellent performance on dry tarmac. Continental
has equipped this model with a new tread compound which not only improves its
treadwear but also has a positive effect on its fuel efficiency.

Unrelated to the tread compound,
the symmetric tread pattern of this tire enhances its steering response on
paved roads. As long as you drive close to the tire’s speed rating, the tread
pattern will ensure that the TrueContact justifies its name and maintains
excellent contact with the road.

As for its wet traction, that’s
where the wide circumferential grooves make their presence felt. They work in
tandem with its lateral grooves and provide a channel for water inside the
tread to trickle its way out of the tire. This mechanism is crucial as it
prevents hydroplaning from surfacing.

Provided you have gone north or
the mercy has dropped below zero in your part of the woods, you won’t have to
replace the TrueContact with dedicated winter tires. It comes with siped tread
blocks and has unique traction grooves which help this tire maintain its biting
edges in snow.

On top of everything else, you
won’t have to worry that this tire’s multi-season utility will have a negative
bearing on its treadwear. It is equipped with a 90,000-mile treadwear warranty
and provided your driving style isn’t bordering on the aggressive, has all the
traits to meet it with ease.

Pros

Better
fuel efficiency

Good
traction on slippery roads

90,000-mile
treadwear warranty

Cons

Pricey

Goodyear Assurance All-Season

Aimed at brand-conscious drivers,
the Goodyear Assurance All-Season tire performs decently on dry, wet and snow
conditions. It has a price tag that won’t blow a hole in your pocket and comes
with a warranty which even the most travel-friendly drivers will find helpful.

Features

Although they work towards the
same goal of making this tire a must-have, the all-season tread compound and
the independent shoulder blocks work differently. The former makes its present
count by joining its forces with an asymmetric tread pattern to empower this
model with excellent year-round traction.

The independent shoulder blocks,
meanwhile, perform two functions. Their direction connection with the steering
means you get better handling on both dry as well as wet surfaces. Also, since
they suss-out road vibrations, it will be they who’ll deserve your praise for a
comfortable and seamless ride.

Though you won’t be able to have
a peek inside the tire, you can still enjoy the utility which the two steel
belts lying there have to offer. Supplemented with a polyester cord body, these
belts are the reason why Goodyear was confident enough to provide this tire
with a 65,000-mile tread warranty.

You also get four wide
circumferential grooves in the tread area of this area. Their only purpose is
to make sure that as the tire moves on wet pavement, the incoming water is
forced out within no time. That means that it’s they who are responsible for
this tire’s handling in wet surfaces.

Finally, while they won’t come to
your rescue in deeper amounts of snow, both the sipes as well as the multiple
biting edges of this tire will provide a more-than-decent grip on snow, slush,
and ice. An optimized tread pattern, meanwhile, aids in lowering the road
noise.

Pros

Excellent
dry handling and traction

Comfortable
riding experience

Low
levels of road noise

Cons

Some
drivers have reported of a less-than-mentioned treadlife

Best High-Performance Tires for Subaru Outback

Yokohama Parada Spec-X

The Yokohama Parada Spec-X is the
Japanese company’s sport tire that is designed to become the replacement tire
for SUVs, performance trucks and bigger muscle cars. Its availability as an
inch-up filament has allowed this tire to be available in sizes ranging between
17 and 30 inches.

Features

What should you expect when
there’s a marriage of an all-season tread compound and aggressive directional
tread pattern? Apart from being impressed by the resultant good-looking design,
you should also embrace yourself to be blown away by the increased braking and
acceleration forces on the road.

Yokohama has made sure that its
high-end acceleration forces don’t steer the tire out of your control balanced
things by equipping this tire with two continuous center ribs and reinforced
shoulder blocks. Both of them add stability and increase the Spec-X’s steering
response for better high-speed grip.

Inside the Spec-X there are two
steel belts and a nylon cover which impart it durability and stability. Also
present there is a polyester cord body that is responsible for absorbing road
vibrations. Together, both of them help secure your ride comfort.

In the unfortunate scenario of
the tires steeping onto curbs or other obstructions, its built-in rim protector
will shield your wheels from damage. You would be hard-pressed to find many
similarly-priced models on the market offering this feature.

Lastly, when the clouds gather
overhead and pavements become wet, the lateral and the wider circumferential
grooves will work in tandem to channel water from beneath the tire’s footprint
and provide traction for a safe ride.

Pros

Good
cornering performance

Responsive
and crisp steering

Comfortable
and smooth ride

Cons

Winter
handling could have been better

Bridgestone Potenza RE97AS

Who says high-performance tires
cannot offer all-season traction? The Bridgestone Potenza not only negates this
myth but goes one mile ahead to provide you with comfortable and quiet riding
quality. Hence the reason why it’s famous among drivers of passenger coupes,
crossovers, and sedans.

Features

In contrast to your average
high-performance tire, the silica tread compound of the Bridgestone Potenza
contains tread polymers. Due to them, you can be sure of having
more-than-adequate grip and traction on both dry as well as wet surfaces.

To enhance the steering response
time and balance the forces of braking, acceleration, and cornering, the
symmetric tread design of the Potenza plays its part. It equips the tire with
an optimized footprint and is supported by stiffer shoulder tread blocks which
enhance this tire’s cornering performance.

Variable pitch sequence of the
tire makes sure that whether you’re navigating around the city or driving at
the highway at full speed, the noise level remains minimum. Though noise got a
bit loud during the end of our test ride when the tread started to show some
signs of wearing.

Stability of the Potenza is
ensured by its spirally wrapped nylon and two inner steel belts. You also get
four circumferential grooves which remove water from the tread area, and can
get sizes in the range of 16-20 inches with two speed ratings (V and W).

One area where this tire could
have done better is its wet weather performance. It was surprising for us to
note that it has little to no edges for winter conditions. Apart from that, we
didn’t notice any other questionable aspect of this tire.

Pros

Good
braking performance

Excellent
cornering and traction

Stable
and comfortable

Cons

Poor
winter performance

Laufenn S Fit AS

A wild-card entry among rows and
rows of high-performance tires that we reviewed for this article, the Laufenn S
Fit AS initially caught our eye with its cheap asking price. Fortunately,
unlike other inexpensive tires on the market, it doesn’t use its low initial
price as an excuse to lower down its quality.

Features

Three features of the Laufenn S
Fit AS convinced us that it was every inch a high-performance tire. They
include its stiff chassis, rugged underpinnings, and a symmetrical all-wheel
drive. All of them join their efforts to make this model a must-have for open
highways and tight city streets.

Despite costing six times fewer
than most Subaru Outback tires in this review, the Laufenn comes with 3-D
intermediate notches and four wide circumferential grooves. This allows this
high-performance option to excavate water from the tread area and offer a
slippage-free ride.

What is more, you even get
multiple sipes in the tread area. More commonly known as ‘biting edges’, they
help this tire tackle light wet or snow conditions with ease. Its outer
shoulder block has a semi-rib design which increases block stiffness to
contribute to better handling of the tire.

At the edge of this tire are rib
block sections that play their part to eliminate unwanted (and excessive) road
noise. Internally, this tire contains two wide steel belts to erase all your
doubts about its durability, and its tread consists of tie bars which help in
the reinforcement of the shoulder tread.

In addition to doing that, the
tread bar also connects the shoulder blocks located on opposite sides of the
tire. This helps the S Fit avoid irregular wear and offer advanced gripping and
cornering. The only negative aspect of this tire is the reduced range of sizes
– as it comes in only 17 and 18-inch sizes.

Pros

Great
traction on all surfaces

Responsive
steering performance

Better
treadlife than the competition

Cons

Reduced range
of sizes

Continental ExtremeContact DWS06

Unlike the Laufenn S Fit AS
high-performance tire, the Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 won’t weigh lightly
in your pocket. Provided you can afford to bear its high asking price, this
tire will justify the same with its ultra-high-performance.

Features

Initially, we weren’t able to
guess that the each letter of the ‘DWS’ signifies something important about the
performance of this tire. For instance, the ‘D’ in the word means that this
tire has an asymmetric tread pattern, one whose chamfered edges and grooves
provide excellent grip on dry tarmac.

The ‘W’ meanwhile sheds light on
its wet performance. This tire comes with Continental’s Sport Plus technology
which joins its forces with its advanced silica tread compound and +Silane
additives to provide it with extreme stability and steering response on wet
roads. In other words, it won’t slip when it’s wet out there.

You might have guessed by now
that the ‘S’ stands for snow. It’s there to tell you that this tire does come
with traction grooves for freezing weather performance. Supplemented by
circumferential grooves (which prevent hydroplaning), the traction grooves
increase this tire’s biting power on snowy and icy roads.

The fact that it isn’t a
dedicated winter tire means you’ve to be careful about the amount of snow this
tire can handle. How can you make sure of that? By keeping your eyes fixed on
the ‘S’ indicator on the tire area. As long as it’s visible, you can safely plow
ahead.

In a final effort to further
sweeten the deal, Continental has made sure that this tire’s noise won’t break
the sleep of the passengers in the cabin. What it hasn’t made sure, unfortunately,
is reduce the wearing of this tire, especially if you have an aggressive
driving style.

Pros

Superior
snow performance

Ultra-quiet
ride

Brilliant
handling

Cons

Wears
quickly

Best Winter Snow Tires for Subaru Outback

Continental Winter Contact SI

Thanks to its pre-installed,
all-wheel-drive system, the Subaru Outback is a popular choice for families
living in areas that are heavily pounded by snow. To help you take full
advantage of this system, what you need is a set of dedicated winter tires. And
that’s why you need the Continental Winter Contact.

Features

As you might have guessed by
reading our decoding of the DWS06 tire, Continental loves couching the utility
of its models in code words. It has done the same with this particular tire,
whose SI term sheds light that this tire is dedicated to Snow & Ice.

Thankfully, Continental didn’t
stop at naming this tire to attract drivers living in freezing environments. It
equipped this model with PolarPlus technology whose proprietary tread compound
is more than capable of maintaining its flexibility and keeps on providing
traction in lower temperatures.

This winter tire comes with a
directional tread design containing ridged grooves and a zig-zag sipe pattern.
You can count on both these design elements to increase this model’s ability to
bite into snow. And our experience with this tire found the ridged grooves
improving this tire’s grip on wet roads as well.

Like most winter tires you see on
the market, the Contact SI won’t maintain its winter traction forever. Unlike
most of them, it comes with a winter tread depth indicator which lets you gauge
the degree of the tread wear. As the percentage goes above 50%, you should know
that the traction will start going down.

Pros

Excellent
grip in ice and snow

Extended
range of sizes

Winter
tread depth indicator

Cons

Pricey

Best All-terrain Tire for Subaru Outback

Pirelli Scorpion ATR

The Pirelli Scorpion ATR is an
all-terrain tire designed for SUVs, crossovers and light pickups. It offers
good stability and steering control on highway conditions and comes with
lateral grooves which enhance this tire’s utility in wet weather conditions.

Features

Due to our experience with
all-terrain tires, we were reasonably excited at this tire using a silica-based
tread compound and asymmetric tread pattern. Luckily, both these features
didn’t disappoint. The former enhanced this model’s traction on wet surfaces
whereas the latter offered stability on dry tarmac.

Its lateral shoulder grooves did
everything we expected of them, and more. Apart from excavating water out of
the tread area – which we expected them to do – they also lowered the braking
distance of the Scorpion – which we didn’t expect them to do.

Although it comes handy on all
types of off-roading activities, one area where the silica-based tread compound
really shines is dust roads. It enhances the traction of this model and
increases its load transitional characteristics on loose surfaces to give you a
smooth and noise-free ride.

Had it not been for their average performance in mud, the Scorpion ATR would have received full marks in this review. There wasn’t any problem with the traction but the noise level was a few decibels higher than we expected. Other than that, we see no reason why it shouldn’t be a dedicated winter tire for your Outback. This is truly one of the best Subaru Outback off road tires on the market.

Pros

Great
traction on rocks

Brilliant
performance on dirt

Quiet
riding experience

Cons

Performance
nosedives on mud

How to choose the best tires for Subaru Outback

There are two factors that you
need to watch out carefully when selecting the tire for your outback. All of
them play a crucial role in the tire’s performance, so it’s recommended that
you don’t adopt a lax attitude towards them.

Type of the Tires

In general, four types of tires are mostly preferred by
Outback drivers:

All-Season Tires

Nine out of ten times, a Subaru
Outback driver will end up choosing an all-season tire. These tires cost less
and provide the best of both worlds in summer and winter conditions. For
instance, to justify their selection in hot conditions, they provide good
braking, cornering and acceleration power.

As for their winter prowess,
these tires have a reasonable grip which allows them to dig deep and slalom
through moderate winter conditions. They also have lateral grooves that allow
them to remove water from the tire’s footprint and their treadlife is the
highest of all four types.

High-Performance Tires

A minority of Outback owners want
to test the ability of their vehicle at breakneck speeds. It’s for this reason
that they end up choosing the high-performance (HP) tires, which have a soft
rubber grip that allows them to grip the dry tarmac easily and increase the
vehicle’s handling at high speeds.

Having said that, not everything
is hunky-dory about the HP tires. Since they are going to handle more abuse,
the treadlife of these tires is at least 10,000 to 20,000 miles less than their
all-season counterparts. So you might have to replace them more frequently.

All-Terrain Tires

As their name implies, the
‘all-terrain’ tires are designed to handle rough conditions like mud, gravel,
rocky surfaces and so on. These tires have an extra-large footprint which
allows them to provide better grip, and their large tread pattern empowers them
to absorb off-road vibrations.

On the flip side, the all-terrain tires cost more than the other two types mentioned above. Also, while their name suggests equal distribution of performance on all surfaces, these tires perform much better on difficult terrains than they do on paved roads. Owning a set of Subaru Outback off road tires is a necessity if you often travel on complex terrains.

Winter Tires

Take the UHP tire, increase the
flexibility of its rubber by 10x, decrease the speed rating by up to 5x, add
biting edges, and what you’d have is a winter tire. Their rubber is more
flexible because it makes the tire easier to manage when the mercury falls.

Also, thanks to their biting
edges (known as ‘sipes’ in technical jargon), these tires provide more grip on
roads buried beneath layers of snow. Also, if you want winter tires, choose the
one which comes with a ‘snowflake’ symbol, which is an indication that the tire
can withstand extremely low temperatures.

Size of the Tires

Whether you own the Outback Base,
2.5i, 2.5i Limited, 2.5i Premium, 2.5i LL Bean, XT Limited, 2.0R Limited or 3.0
R LL Bean model, there is a specific tire size that will fit your Subaru. To
find out what that is, check the manual attached on the road-side of the driver
seat, on the car’s body.

Depending on your model, one or
more of the following tire sizes might fit it:

P215/70R16

P225/60R16

P225/55R17

P225/60R17

P225/65R17

P225/60R18

Subaru Outback Tires – FAQs

Following are some questions
which you may have about Subaru outback tires:

Q:Which tire is better for
my Outback – All-Season or UHP?

A: If you want more tread life, normally drive well below the speed
limit and don’t want to pay over the odds, go for an all-season tire.
Conversely, if you want an increased speed limit, good handling at high-speeds
and can afford to pay more at the front, UHP tires might be worthy of your
money.

Q:What is the recommended
tire pressure for my Subaru Outback?

A: Although the correct tire pressure depends on the trim level and
model year of your Outback, the average tire pressure which Subaru recommends
is 32 PSI.

Q:How can I extend the
tread life of my Subaru Outback tires?

A: Follow these tips to enhance the tread life of your tire:

Always keep the tires properly inflated

Lower down your top driving speeds

Ensure that the wheels are properly aligned

Create a periodic tire inflation maintenance
schedule

Conclusion

Since they are famous for their
cross-country credentials, the Subaru Outback deserves tires that could match
their tough performance. The market offers so many options that narrowing down
the list seems more difficult than navigating the Crossback through a traffic
jam.

That’s where this article comes
in – all the ten tires that you saw above have what it takes to be a worthy
replacement for the original tires of your Outback. Simply decide the
environment you’re going to ride the tires in, and you’ll have a pair (or two)
in this review that will exceed your requirements.